Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the eligibility criteria for statutory sick pay for people who work 12-hour shifts and whose working week is condensed into three days.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the minimum that employers must pay to eligible individuals during a period of sickness absence. Many employers decide to pay more, and for longer, through Occupational Sick Pay.

Eligibility to SSP is based upon an individual’s earnings from employment, rather than the number of hours they work. SSP is paid from the fourth qualifying day (days an employee usually works) of work missed. The first three qualifying days in a period of absence are known as waiting days. To be eligible to receive SSP, an individual must have been incapable of work for at least four days in a row, including non-working days.

The Government is continuing to keep the SSP system under review.